Am I being unreasonable with the dealer?

[CapnCarl]

Hey all, just the facts:

• Purchased a new 2018 Sport Touring
• Got the price I wanted
• Noted with the salesperson on first inspection that it did not have a full tank (they drove it in from another dealer, so it was just above half full)
• Salesperson asked on a test drive I insisted on if I needed any features explained or set up (they guessed I wouldn't because it looked like I did my research)
• Salesperson insists I leave a five star review on google and 10 with Honda, mention them personally, and to let them know if there is anything that isn't perfect so they can follow up and earn the review
• I accept the car, but notice halfway home that the tank is not full
• I send a text to the salesperson, no response
• I notice when I get home that the pre-delivery inspection in the glovebox is incomplete.
  • Key code, audio/navi code, VIN, technician, DPTS ID, battery state of charge 10-digit code, quality control inspector signature and date, battery code (again), recalls, tire pressure check, TPMS calibration, dealership signature (x2), and all new owner information is blank.
  • I was never shown this at the dealer and never signed it.
• I notice that even though they gave me the bottom line I wanted, they added two "EasyCare" items into the price of the car
  • 1 year prepaid maintenance (2x oil changes) @ $150
    • Fully refundable within 30 days
  • 1 year free key replacement @ $84
    • The contract for this says it is given at no charge and the price listed on the contract is $0
• The dealer (internet sales manager) emails me a couple days after the deal asking to leave a 5-star review on Google and "If you feel as if we did not earn a 5 star review from your experience please contact us at #### so we can come to an aggreable [sic] solution to your less than expected experience."
• I respond to the email with my two complaints
  • Gas tank wasn't full, salesperson ignored text
  • Pre-delivery inspection not complete
• I call the next day (today) after not getting a response to my email
• The Internet sales manager says the email was automated and he can't see replies
  • I really doubt this as the reply address was his name @dealername.edealerhub.com and why would the "internet sales manager" give out an email address that he doesn't check?
• He agrees that "we owe you a tank of gas" and tells me I should drive over there and he would help me out
• I drive to the dealer (I had the day off and nothing better to do at the moment)
• I ask for the internet sales manager and he tells me he'll find the salesperson
• Another salesperson (I talked to them once and emailed once before making the deal with another salesperson) shows up instead of the one I made the deal with
• He asks about the gas situation and asks if I have a picture
• I say no, but I did send a text to the other salesperson after I got home the day I bought it
• He says there is nothing he can do and he made sure it had a full tank before I picked it up
• He asks why I am there over half a tank of gas
• I show the pre-delivery inspection checklist and he obviously has never seen one before and asks what it is
• I explain the blank areas and the internet sales manager quickly grabs it and initials and signs the last page about the new owner information
• Salesperson then proclaims that I said "it has been a long day" and "I just want to go home" the day I picked up the car
  • I never spoke to this guy the day I picked up the car
  • I have never said those words in my life. I had a really easy day at work, I left early, and it was only ~5pm.
• I'm shocked by what he is saying and mention that I didn't say that and it has nothing to do with this checklist. I did not need any features explained and I'm not asking for that now.
• He asks me if that is all and to leave if it is
• I mention that I want to cancel EasyCare
• The sales manager (my wife and I were calling him the closer) tears out of his office after hearing this and raises a big fuss loudly asking why I would want to do that and tells me to follow him to the finance manager's office and asks for a cancellation sheet
• I follow the sales manager back to his office and after a five-minute guilt trip about how they didn't make any money, showing me a number on an Excel sheet showing a "$1,700 loss," and saying that we agreed on the bottom line and that I shouldn't cancel it because it was free I give us and say I'll keep it
• I show the checklist and he doesn't offer any solutions
• I say that I'm not trying to be a jerk, I just came in because two different people asked me for a review and that they wanted to know if I had any issues so they could fix them
• I say "no hard feelings," shake his hand, walk to leave, and he tanks me for my (military) service loudly as I'm walking away (I hate it when people do that)

TL;DR
Didn't get a full tank of gas in the new car, pre-inspection sheet not filled out, called a liar about the gas, told that the inspection sheet not being filled out isn't an issue.

Question:
Should I make a point and get $234 out of the dealer by canceling the maintenance contracts I didn't ask for for being rude to me or just let it be?

(I have the day off today and this is slightly entertaining. I don't even care about the money.)

Sponsored

 

[Sgtstaadanko]

No one forced them to "take a loss" on selling the car. They definitely aren't anyways. They are unwilling to rectify the gas situation, and I didn't see you say anything about them apologizing for the incomplete pdi and offering something as compensation. If you don't want two 150$ oil changes, which is an absolutely insane price for an oil change for this car by the way, you don't need to keep them. Get your money back to make up for the gas and the missing apology. You don't owe these conmen anything.

 

[SCOPESYS]

Hey all, just the facts:

• Purchased a new 2018 Sport Touring
  
• I notice when I get home that the pre-delivery inspection in the glovebox is incomplete.
  • Key code, audio/navi code, VIN, technician, DPTS ID, battery state of charge 10-digit code, quality control inspector signature and date, battery code (again), recalls, tire pressure check, TPMS calibration, dealership signature (x2), and all new owner information is blank.
  • I was never shown this at the dealer and never signed it.

You can be sure that they did not do a full pre-delivery inspection.

Strongly suggest you check
(1) Tire Pressure
(2) Wheel Nut Torqe

I had the same experience -- no completed pre-delivery inspection.
Tire pressures were all over the place, some high, some very low.
Wheel Nut torques varied from about 45 !! to over 90 ft/lb (amazing)

 

[CapnCarl]

You can be sure that they did not do a full pre-delivery inspection.

Strongly suggest you check
(1) Tire Pressure
(2) Wheel Nut Torqe

I had the same experience -- no completed pre-delivery inspection.
Tire pressures were all over the place, some high, some very low.
Wheel Nut torques varied from about 45 !! to over 90 ft/lb (amazing)

I'll check the tires and nut torque. (Stupid question: how can I tell what they are torqued to? I know how to set the torque but not how to check current torque. What is the spec torque anyway?)

I contacted Honda of America about the PDI checklist and they have opened a case. We'll see what happens with that.

Edit: All tire pressures were at least 20% lower than spec. Spare tire had 40psi vs the 60psi called for.
I don't have a torque wrench big enough for the wheel nuts I'll have to ask around to find one.

 

[mitch96]

Question:
Should I make a point and get $234 out of the dealer by canceling the maintenance contracts I didn't ask for for being rude to me or just let it be?

Yes and Yes... That maintenance contract is just another way for this stealer, er dealer to take more money out of your pocket.
See what the contract entails and then see what a local shop would charge. I'll bet it's less.
From what I've read, a good bit of the hold back $ from Honda to the dealer depends on how well the dealer treats it's customers. That's why they were going all bullshit on you about the review. Good reviews get more $$$. If you feel you were taken advantage of tell mother Honda.. Tell the truth. Name names. All the dealer wants is your money. If the dealer calls you with a sob story tell him he did not build that big beautiful dealership by loosing money on cars..
He does not give a shit about you..Which is pretty obvious from his treatment of you to this point..
Then move on...
mitch

 

[Blayzejlm]

So I'm a tech at a Honda dealership and have been there for 12 years. When we get cars swapped in from other dealerships, we don't actually do "full" PDI's. We do what's called a check PDI which is checking lights, tire pressures, making sure wheel locks are on and a couple other little things. But nothing related to the PDI checklist. That should've been filled out by the dealership that had the car and did the original PDI. Buuut having said all that and working for dealerships for over 16 years in general, reading these stories don't surprise me anymore. Sales departments are terrible in general and don't really give a shit about you after you sign on that line. Don't give them a good rating and fight for everything you want back. Bad surveys kill them and the salemen that gets the bad survey will def feel it in his pocket. Don't lay down for them

 

[CapnCarl]

Question:
Should I make a point and get $234 out of the dealer by canceling the maintenance contracts I didn't ask for for being rude to me or just let it be?

Yes and Yes... That maintenance contract is just another way for this stealer, er dealer to take more money out of your pocket.
See what the contract entails and then see what a local shop would charge. I'll bet it's less.
From what I've read, a good bit of the hold back $ from Honda to the dealer depends on how well the dealer treats it's customers. That's why they were going all bullshit on you about the review. Good reviews get more $$$. If you feel you were taken advantage of tell mother Honda.. Tell the truth. Name names. All the dealer wants is your money. If the dealer calls you with a sob story tell him he did not build that big beautiful dealership by loosing money on cars..
He does not give a shit about you..Which is pretty obvious from his treatment of you to this point..
Then move on...
mitch

I would never bring my car to a dealer for an oil change anyway. I do not trust mechanics for the most part and prefer to do pretty much all maintenance myself if I can.

Changing the oil and filter on this thing has to be easier than my '07 Si I've been maintaining for the past 11 years. (I had to always take off the front right tire to get to the filter. What a pain, but it forced me to rotate the tires anyway)

 

[krees]

I guess I'll be the one to take a different stance. When I was younger I chose to fight all the good fights. As I got older, I learned not all fights are worth fighting. You mentioned that you really dont care about the money so the fight would be on sheer principle. To me, that fight would not be worth the stress it would cost to get it. You are, no doubt, in the right if you choose to fight it on principle but seems like not a whole lot of gain. You have to put up with dealership (wo)man babies acting like you are robbing them for a couple hundred bucks you didn't even care about to begin with. I'd skip this fight but you arent wrong for fighting it should you choose. Maybe I'm just old (or even just lazy) or just despise salespeople but the less time I'm dealing with them the better.

Good luck either way and thank you for your military service (former army 3rd ID).

 

[gtman]

I didn't get a chance to read the entire first post novel because my eyes kind of glazed over. The bottom line here is, no, you are not being unreasonable. Get what you can from this dealer and if you have another dealer in the area, service it elsewhere. F 'em.

 

[CapnCarl]

I guess I'll be the one to take a different stance. When I was younger I chose to fight all the good fights. As I got older, I learned not all fights are worth fighting. You mentioned that you really dont care about the money so the fight would be on sheer principle. To me, that fight would not be worth the stress it would cost to get it. You are, no doubt, in the right if you choose to fight it on principle but seems like not a whole lot of gain. You have to put up with dealership (wo)man babies acting like you are robbing them for a couple hundred bucks you didn't even care about to begin with. I'd skip this fight but you arent wrong for fighting it should you choose. Maybe I'm just old (or even just lazy) or just despise salespeople but the less time I'm dealing with them the better.

Good luck either way and thank you for your military service (former army 3rd ID).

I completely understand. I felt the same way when I wrote the post. I did agree to the bottom line and they gave me the bottom line I was looking for.

Now I'm thinking of getting the money back just for the fact that they did not have the tires inflated to the right psi and I had to waste my time filling them all up. (Why do I have to flip over the spare to check the pressure, Honda? My '07 Civic wasn't like that!)

 

[NUshek]

I guess I'll be the one to take a different stance. When I was younger I chose to fight all the good fights. As I got older, I learned not all fights are worth fighting. You mentioned that you really dont care about the money so the fight would be on sheer principle. To me, that fight would not be worth the stress it would cost to get it. You are, no doubt, in the right if you choose to fight it on principle but seems like not a whole lot of gain. You have to put up with dealership (wo)man babies acting like you are robbing them for a couple hundred bucks you didn't even care about to begin with. I'd skip this fight but you arent wrong for fighting it should you choose. Maybe I'm just old (or even just lazy) or just despise salespeople but the less time I'm dealing with them the better.

Good luck either way and thank you for your military service (former army 3rd ID).

Agree with Krees on the fight being more of a headache than it is worth especially if you don't care about the money. I'd leave them a poor (truthful) review and move on and never go back to that dealership again.

 

[mitch96]

Re: maintenance...
Down here in So Fla we have a few FACTORY TRAINED independent Honda repair shops. These guys worked for Honda, went to their schools and know the auto's inside and out.. AND And and they charge a bucket load less than the dealer. They don't have the overhead the dealer has and most times they have more experience
than the fresh out of mechanic school nOOb has.
The guy I go to is fantastic and has testimonials all over the waiting room. I've been going to him for over 20 years and trust him and his "guys"..
See if you have anybody like that in your area and do the yelp thing also...
YMMV
mitch

 

[CVCTURBO]

2 things, as soon as u signed the papers the salesman got his commission and sometimes after that they could care less about helping afterwards. Also sneaking "add ons" into contracts is super common. I sold and worked on cars for Cadillac, Chevy, and Ford and they all told me to put these "add ons" in the papper work. If a customer sees them and declines them, it's a easy way for the salesman to say I'll make it cheaper by taking them off. If a customer doesn't notice them then you made more money because you upsold the customer. It's completely fd up. Luckily when I bought my car I saw a GPS add on ($450) and I said take that shit off! They tried to tell me people have been stealing these cars alot where I live..... Which is in the country lol

Either way you better leave a bad review if you felt you weren't treated correctly or somewhat screwed on the gas and add on.

 

[CapnCarl]

2 things, as soon as u signed the papers the salesman got his commission and sometimes after that they could care less about helping afterwards. Also sneaking "add ons" into contracts is super common. I sold and worked on cars for Cadillac, Chevy, and Ford and they all told me to put these "add ons" in the papper work. If a customer sees them and declines them, it's a easy way for the salesman to say I'll make it cheaper by taking them off. If a customer doesn't notice them then you made more money because you upsold the customer. It's completely fd up. Luckily when I bought my car I saw a GPS add on ($450) and I said take that shit off! They tried to tell me people have been stealing these cars alot where I live..... Which is in the country lol

Either way you better leave a bad review if you felt you weren't treated correctly or somewhat screwed on the gas and add on.

It wasn't an add-on. It did not add to the bottom line. I wanted X + my trade, and I got X + my trade. It was pointless on their end to add them. Now I can get money back I was not expecting to get back.

 

[CVCTURBO]

Ahhhh ok I got you, sorry I kind of quickly scanned over original post. Yeah get that then lol

Sponsored